The Providence Academy Athletics Department is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Corey Koskie as the new Head Baseball Coach. Koskie replaces Mr. Kent Koch, who served for four season as the Lions head coach and for three years as an assistant coach. Koch resigned his duties due to a promotion at his full-time job, which will not have the same flexibility for him to carry on as the head coach. Providence Academy Athletic Director Mr. Daren Messmore said, “Our baseball community has been very fortunate to have the leadership of Coach Koch over the past seven years. He’s been a great asset to the PA Athletic Department and we wish him the very best as he advances in his professional career.”

Koch shared, “It has been my pleasure serving the athletes at Providence Academy these last seven seasons. A special thanks to the administration for allowing me to be a part of the PA community. The program has come a long way and I am proud to have been a part of the progress. I will miss working with the student-athletes. I have been fortunate to have great young men come through the program and the support of their parents has been amazing.”

Coach Koskie grew up on a farm just east of Winnipeg in Anola, Manitoba, Canada where his primary sports were hockey and volleyball. He played junior hockey for the Selkirk Steelers and was recruited to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth but chose to play volleyball at the University of Manitoba. After two years, Koskie left the Manitoba Bison to play college baseball at Des Moines Area Community College in Boone, Iowa.

Koskie was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in round 26 of the 1990 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on September 9, 1998. He established himself in 1999 by hitting .310 and knocking in 58 runs. In 2000, he batted .300 with a .400 on-base percentage, and in 2001, he hit 26 home runs, had 103 RBIs, and scored 100 runs. Koskie subsequently played 15 years of professional baseball.

After retiring from baseball, Koskie began coaching both hockey and baseball, which, to date, totals to over 75 teams, most of which have been in the Wayzata Hockey and Baseball Associations. He most recently served as an assistant varsity baseball coach for the Lions.

When asked about his coaching philosophy and why he chose to coach at Providence Academy, Koskie responded, “My priorities are to 1) develop the person, 2) develop the athlete, and 3) develop the baseball player. Baseball is like life. One day you are 0-4 with three strikeouts and you feel like a failure. The beauty of baseball is every day you wake up being 0-0. You have the chance to define your day. If you dwell on the past, the game will eat you up. Focus on getting a little bit better every day. You can never lose with this mindset. You either win or learn. As the new head coach, I want to help our teams understand this concept.”

Please thank Mr. Kent Koch for his seven years of service at Providence Academy and welcome Mr. Corey Koskie to his new position with the Lions!